The Dispatch for smart phones

By Stephen HoldenNew York Times News Service • Friday December 21, 2012 9:43 AM

Dramas about alcoholism and recovery have little room to maneuver between two stories: one of
resilience and regeneration, the other of self-destruction.

Their success depends on the degree of truthfulness they convey about a subject shrouded in
shame and secrecy before it was turned into a reality-TV staple.

Smashed — a portrait of Kate Hannah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a Los Angeles
elementary-school teacher whose drinking spins out of control — goes unsentimental for the age of
series such as
Intervention and
Rehab With Dr. Drew.

The story is similar to that of
Days of Wine and Roses (1962), minus the melodrama. Anchored in a solid, convincing
performance by Winstead (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), it depicts the arc of abuse and recovery in an
almost-matter-of-fact tone.

The movie, written by James Ponsoldt and Susan Burke, doesn’t camouflage the pleasures of the
drinking life that Kate shares with party-loving husband Charlie (Aaron Paul), a music writer.
Their morning hangovers are considered a small price to pay for the sloppy times they have in
karaoke bars and on tipsy bike rides. Drinking represents the glue of their happy relationship.

The first embarrassment that alerts Kate to her addiction involves her vomiting in front of her
class, shortly after swigging alcohol from a flask on her drive to work.

Her vice principal (Nick Offerman of
Parks and Recreation), nine years sober, gently guides her to Alcoholics Anonymous.

The film then observes unblinkingly what might happen to a couple when one half stops drinking
and the other doesn’t.

Charlie is supportive to a point, but the fun is missing.Soon, the marriage comes apart.

Smashed is briskly paced, and it doesn’t dwell on her emotional damage — with no lingering
scenes of anguished confessions.

The degree to which it refuses to indulge a voyeuristic taste for the sordidness exploited by
reality shows equals a declaration of principle.